How To Display A Random Name in Excel

Say that we have organized an event, and we want to draw a prize that we have, to a lucky person. How do we do it? Do we write the names on pieces of papers, put them in a carton box, and call someone to pick the lucky one? Old fashioned technique!!!

So how do we do it?

We type the list of names in Excel and we create the right Function, where when we press a certain key on our keyboard and release, the lucky one names appears, and we have a winner. So simple! Just follow the steps below in order to find out how we create the Function.

In the image below, Ι have typed a list of names in our Worksheet. What we want now is to create a Formula, which will randomly pick a name every time, only by pressing a certain key on our keyboard.

The next step is to activate the cell that we want to type in the Formula:

=INDEX(A2:A17,RAND()*16)

INDEX(…): Returns a value of reference of the cell at the intersection of a particular row and column, in a given range.

A2:A17 is the range of names in the cells

RAND(): Returns a a random number greater than or equal to 0 and less than 1, evenly distributed (changes on recalculation).

16is the amount of names

In the image below, I have activated the cell B17, which contains the formula that I have created. We can see the formula activated in the cell, and the range of names activated also.

The only thing left to do is to make sure that the cell (which contains the formula), is activated. In this example, the cell B17 is the one. Next, we just keep on pressing the F9 key from our keyboard, and every time we release it, a RandomName will appear.

That is it, we have a winner.

Below you can check out the video describing how to display a random name in Excel.

How To Display A Random Name in Excel

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